Read Dunning Memorial Park Investigation

Fort Dearborn Cemetery (Circa 1805-1835) was first known as the "Common Burial Ground at Fort Dearborn and Garrison Cemetery" and is considered Chicago’s first cemetery. The site was not much more than sand, which shifted with the winds off Lake Michigan. It was difficult to maintain the graves and the markers at best were probably simple wooden boards or crosses. Many other graves likely went unmarked.

It was located southeast of the fort between the road leading to the fort and the west bank of the Chicago River as it flowed southward to the lake, before the northern channel was cut. On modern street grids, the cemetery would have been south and east of the intersection of Lake Street (200 north) and Wabash Avenue (50 east).  It was located on what today would be the south end of the Michigan Avenue Bridge at the Chicago River, approximately 300 N. Michigan by today’s street numbering system.

Chicago and her Churches reported “The burial ground for the Garrison was on the spot where the I.C. (Illinois Central railroad station) now stands, but it was swept away by lake waters, with all its dead, before that magnificent structure was built.”

In 1835, two regular cemeteries were established near Lake Michigan, at the edges of town. One was located at Chicago Avenue and the other at Twelfth Street.

"In 1843, a cemetery complex began on the Green Bay beach ridge at North Avenue and slowly extended north with the 60-acre City Cemetery and south with the smaller Catholic Cemetery. A Jewish Burial Society bought six-sevenths of an acre in City Cemetery in 1846. Four years later, the city added 12 acres to its cemetery by purchasing the adjacent estate of Jacob Milleman, a victim of cholera.

Citing the proximity of the burial grounds to the city's water supply as hazardous to public health, Chicago's sanitary superintendent, physician John Rauch, requested the abandonment of the city cemetery as early as 1858. Burials, however, continued until 1866, when Chicago lost a lawsuit filed by the Milleman heirs, who claimed $75,000 was owed to them as a result of the mistake-ridden sale of 1850. The city chose to move the bodies to private cemeteries located outside of the city limits and return the land to the heirs.

The Great Removal began. City Cemetery bodies were wagoned to Graceland, Oakwoods, Rosehill, and Wunder's cemeteries. The Roman Catholic choices were Calvary in Evanston and St. Boniface in Chicago. Jews had moved their burial ground to Belmont and Clark in 1856.

Those bodies were moved again to the site of the Dunning Asylum. The complex occupied 320 acres of land between Irving Park Road and Montrose Avenue, stretching west from Narragansett Avenue to Oak Park Avenue. It was never officially called Dunning but the property just south was owned by the Dunning Family and when and later when the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway extended a line here in 1882, it was called Dunning Station.

In 1851, construction began on the Cook County Insane Asylum or Read Dunning Insane Asylum on Oak Park Avenue It began as a cemetery for the Cook County institutions at Dunning. These consisted of the County Poor house and farm opened 1854, the Insane Asylum opened 1869, the infirmary opened 1882, and the Consumptive hospital, opened 1899.

With over 38,000 burials spanning some seventy years, it began as a cemetery for the Cook County institutions at Dunning. These consisted of the County Poor house and farm opened 1854, the Insane Asylum opened 1869, the infirmary opened 1882, and the Consumptive hospital (TB), opened 1899.

The cemetery rapidly grew in size and soon evolved as the official county Potters Field for the unclaimed and unwanted dead of Chicago and Cook County. The cemetery received bodies from the Cook County Hospital, the city morgue, many Chicago area hospitals, foundling homes, and many other city social institutions.

Also interred here are Veterans from the Civil War, including Thomas Hamilton McCray, a Confederate brigadier general who moved to Chicago after the war and died in 1891, 117 unknown and unclaimed persons from the Great 1871 Chicago fire and orphaned and abandoned children.

One of the most notorious people buried at Dunning was Johann Hoch, a bigamist who was believed to have married 30 women and murdered at least 10 of them. After he was hanged at Cook County Jail in 1906, other cemeteries refused to accept his body. Even an “Unknown Man” who’d apparently stabbed himself to death was placed in the ground at Dunning in 1912.

By 1889 a judge described this place as, “a tomb for the living.” By 1910 most residents were moved to Oak Forest Hospital. In 1912 it was named Chicago State Hospital and closed shortly thereafter on June 30, 1912.

In the years after Chicago State Hospital closed, the state sold much of the property. Today, the land includes the Dunning Square shopping center, which is anchored by a Jewel store; the campus of Wright College; the Maryville Center for Children; and houses and condominiums.

State officials apparently didn’t realize that human bodies were buried underneath a section of the Dunning land when they sold it to Pontarelli Builders, which began work putting up houses. In 1989, a backhoe operator working on the project found a corpse. The state had recently passed a law requiring archaeological assessments before construction is allowed on any property where human remains have been found, so archaeologist David Keene was hired to examine the site.

He determined that a five-acre cemetery was hidden, just northwest of the current-day corner of Belle Plaine and Neenah avenues. As a result of Keene’s findings, that property was set aside as the Read-Dunning Memorial Park, which was dedicated in 2002. Construction was allowed on the land south of it.

This was just the second-oldest of three cemeteries on the Dunning grounds. The earliest cemetery was near the original poorhouse, just west of Narragansett Avenue and north of Belle Plaine. County officials had supposedly moved the bodies out of that cemetery into the second graveyard, but Keene says bodies did turn up there during another construction project. “We found a little over 30 individuals there, and we were able to remove them so (the developer) could build his building there,” Keene says.

And when Wright College was under construction on the former asylum grounds in the early 1990s, scattered human remains surfaced there, too, Keene says.

The third Dunning cemetery was located farther west — underneath what is now Oak Park Avenue near Chicago-Read Mental Health Center.

This area was finally dedicated as the Read Dunning Memorial Park in 2002.

Address: 6550 W. Belle Plaine Ave., Chicago, IL 60634

Hauntings: While there are no known hauntings or reports of paranormal activity here, just the fact that some of the original bodies buried at the original Fort Dearborn Cemetery were moved or, in some cases, accidentally disturbed, I find it highly likely that some of those originally buried there might not be at rest, still to this day have no individual grave markers and are buried in mass graves. No one comes to visit individuals buried at Reed Dunning so they are literally forgotten graves with no one to pay their respects to anymore.

There is much precedent of other graveyards acquiring ghost stories or paranormal activity soon after purposeful or accidental grave desecration in the past; namely Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery and Greenwood Cemetery in Decatur where a number of Civil War internments were washed away after some flooding there, only to have those bones recovered and also buried in a mass grave.

The Ghost Research Society last investigated Read Dunning Memorial Park May 29, 2021 and the team members included: Ron Lovatt, Mike Rosario, Charles Williams and Dale Kaczmarek.

Equipment setup: All hand-held equipment was used such as digital recorders and cameras, full-spectrum cameras and camcorders, REM Epod, Tri-Field Natural EM Meter, and Melmeter with proximity probe, K-II meter, and Phasma Box app.

Experiments performed: EVP, Phasma Box with Optium version and ParaTek app sessions were performed by the Chicago Fire section, Civil War section and the section devoted to Orphans and Abandoned Children.

Personal experiences:

Ron Lovatt: We did three EVP sessions at various locations of the property including were victims of the Chicago fire were buried, civil war soldiers, and orphaned and abandoned children.  We also used a K-II and Melmeter and got an occasional spike then it would stop. During the EVP sessions with the ParaTek we asked questions but felt the majority of the time the spirits were speaking to each other and were ignoring us like it was residual or as Chuck pointed out it might be intermit in nature.  We did pick up a few words like..  Treatment, fear, scared.  Overall, we all agreed it might be a good idea to come back here at night and do another investigation.

I thought the day was very productive and did have some good experiences.  If the weather was less windy I’m sure we might have heard the EVPs better since the whole day was outside.  None of my pictures showed anything.  Overall a good day.

Mike Rosario: Equipment and Initial Investigation:  Our investigation at the Read-Dunning Memorial Park located in Chicago, Illinois, took off at approximately 4:46pm with Dale Kaczmarek, Chuck Williams, Ron Lovatt, and Mike Rosario on Saturday, May 29, 2021.  Weather was around 65°, and the wind was still a bit gusty.  Equipment used was my K-II meter; a Philips VoiceTracer Digital Voice Recorder; a DVC 4K Ultra HD 48mp Night Shot Digital Video Camcorder; and an Apple iPhone 8-Plus 256GB Smartphone for exterior HD pictures and videos.

For this investigation, I was accompanied by Dale, Chuck, and Ron, and we pretty much stuck together as one group for this investigation.  I began by doing my usual K-II sweeps in and around a total of three (3) large sections of the burial grounds so that I could get some base readings, which was around 3.1-3.6 mG, but nothing went higher than those numbers throughout the investigation.  These sections included: The Chicago Fire Victims Section; The Civil War Victims Section; and The Abandoned Orphan Section. 

It was very calm around the area with a few inquisitive passersby who were a bit curious of our stay.  There wasn’t a lot of outside contamination, but there were cars passing us about every other minute or so because of the cul-de-sac and the adjacent main road, Narragansett Avenue.  I took some pictures and videos in hopes of capturing some good visual and audio evidence whilst we were there at the burial site.

The four of us stayed for a while, and each of us asked some questions pertaining to the burial site in general, and who was with us in spirit form whilst we were there.  Being such a very sensitive subject to be discussing, we were very respectful and professional during our EVP sessions.  Over 38,000 lives were buried in mass graves only feet away from where we were sitting, and we wanted to approach the site with deep reverence and veneration.  We wanted to see if those spirits (if any) who passed away wanted to communicate with us. 

Whenever there is a location where many individuals had passed away at one time, or suddenly, like a plane crash site, a battlefield site, a mass grave, or even a maritime disaster site, we strive to treat those kinds of investigations with extra respect by being mindful, honoring, and we try to say a small prayer to those who were lost.  Many feelings and emotions become exponential when at these types of locations, but respect and professionalism is our top priority when conducting all our investigations. 

Evidence:  Upon reviewing all of my evidence, I did not have any visual evidence on my DVC camcorder.  However, I did receive an abundance of audio evidence from my digital voice recorder from each of the three locations at the Park.  The following audio evidence was taken at the Memorial Park burial site during some Phasma Box and ParaTek device sessions:

The Chicago Fire Victims Section:

 ~ “Anything Surgical”                                               ~ “I am”

~ “Tragic Death”                                                        ~ “Biden”

~ “Jill has green”

The Civil War Victims Section:

 ~ “Yes”

~ “Major”

~ “Thomas”

The Abandoned Orphan Victims’ Section:

~ “Sheena”

~ “How old are you” (Male voice); and then, “Just sisters.” (Female voice)

~ “We love you (or where are you?).

~ “Dying”

~ “Ursula”

~ “Been around”

~ “Lots of casualties”

~ “Sometime”

Charles Williams: Site of the cemetery of the Reed/Dunning home that held orphan, Civil War vets, the poor, mentally ill, etc.  This was a nice tribute, and once again had a somber feel to it.  Several EVP sessions were held at varied locations in the park.  People use this space, as was evidenced by walkers, and dog walkers. 

Dale Kaczmarek: It was a very windy day and most of the EVP sessions were contaminated by the wind. (Note: I need to buy a windscreen of some kind to limit wind noise.) The most interesting response that we received is when we were trying to communicate with a Confederate BG Thomas Hamilton McCray. The name “Thomas” came out which is amazing using the ParaTek app.

I did not feel anything out of the ordinary and the location appeared quite peaceful yet forgotten by most. The bodies were pretty much buried in mass graves and little is known about who actually is buried there. A few names are known and this is the only reason that I believe that this location might be haunted along with many of them being accidentally dug up and moved from place to place. I believe that can disturb the dead and possibly create some paranormal activity in the future.

There were many times that “fear” came through and “scared.” Whether that had something to do with the old asylum and some of the now barbaric ways of treating patients could not be ascertained.

Evidence collected:

Anything surgical Read.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session near the Chicago Fire section, the device said, “Anything surgical.”

Been around Read.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session near the Orphan’s section, a question was asked, “How many children are here with us?” The device responded with, “Been around.”

Dying Read.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session near the Orphan’s section a female voice said loudly, “Dying.”

Either Thomas Read.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session by the Civil War section, a question was asked, “Did you fight for the North or the South?” The device replied with, “Either” and then a short time later added the name, “Thomas.” (I believe that it was quite possible that we were communicating the BG Thomas Hamilton McCray.

I am Read.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Chicago Fire section, a question was asked, “Did you burn in the fire?” A female voice responds with, “I am. “

Jill has green Read.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Chicago Fire section, the device blurted out, “Jill has green.”

Sheena Orphans Read.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Orphans section, the device said, “Sheena.”

Sometimes Orphans Read.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Orphans section, a question was asked, “Did people die here?” A voice responds with, “Sometimes.”

Tragic death Chicago Fire Read.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session near the Chicago Fire section, a man voice comes through and says, “Tragic death.”

Ursula Read.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session near the Orphans section, a question was asked, “Who are we talking to? What’s your first name?” The device responded with, “Ursula.”

We love you Orphans Read.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session near the Orphans section, a question was asked, “Is there someone here preventing you from talking?” The response talks over the last part of the question and says, “We love you!”

Who’s that dog Rosita Read.MP4 – William’s full-spectrum camera catches an interesting series. First a real dog is heard barking in the background and the device asks the question, “Who’s that dog?” A question is then asked, “Who are we talking to? What’s your first name?” The device responds with, “Rosita.”

Yes Civil War Read.MP4 – while conducting a ParaTek app section near the Civil War section, a question was asked, “If there’s somebody here, can you tell me your first name?” The app responds with, “Yes.”

Words spoken by the ParaTek app: one, yes, daughter, course, moment, horses, let, quite, vicious, Major, either, Thomas, energy, water, thank, feet, wars, outsider, opium, that, fear, older, fear, maybe, feel, manifest, kept, X, no, scared, game, upstairs, pattern, rain, now and high.

Random words or phrases spoken by the Phasma Box: sleazy, dying, no patients today, Edwin, once and sunny.

Conclusions: A lot of the responses and even random words that came through various devices used that afternoon were most likely residual in nature. They didn’t answer specific questions posed and were all over the place. In some instances, I believe that several spirits were present and talking amongst themselves like what would have occurred in the old asylum.

The only intelligent might have been recorded when attempting communication in the old Civil War section. There was an intelligent but somewhat ambiguous word spoken when asking which side he/she was on during the War Between the States.

And then the name Thomas coming out was amazing. That was the only name we heard and recorded for the entire ParaTek session. That, to me, shows some intelligence.

I would like to return here one evening when it’s much quieter to conduct another investigation of this location and see if we can contact others who might want to pass on some last messages to the living.